Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/789

Rh Ismaelites, called Hassan Ben Sabbah. The father of this man, a native of Khorassan, and au adherent of the Shiites, had been frequently compelled to profess Sunnite ortho- dory, and from prudential motives had sent his son to study under an orthodox doctor at Nishapur. Here Hassan made the acquaintance of Nizam-el-Mulk, afterwards vizier of the Sultan Malik-Shah. During the reign of Alp-Arslan he remained in obscurity, and then appeared at the court of Malik-Shah, where he was at first kindly received by his old friend the vizier. Hassan, who was a man of great ability, tried to supplant him in the favour of the sultan, but was outwitted and compelled to take his departure from &quot;Persia. He went to Egypt, and, on account of his high reputation, was received with great honour by the lodge at Cairo. He soon stood so high in the Caliph Mostansar s favour as to excite against him the jealousy of the chief general, and a cause of open enmity soon arose. The caliph had nominated first one and then another of his sons as his successor, and in consequence a party division took place among the leading men. Hassan, who adopted the cause of Nezar, the eldest son, found his enemies too strong for him, and was forced to leave Egypt. After many adventures he reached Aleppo and Damascus, and after a sojourn there, settled near Kuhistan. He gradually spread his peculiar modification of Isniaelite doctrine, and having collected a considerable number of followers, formed them into a secret society. In 1090 he obtained, it is said by stratagem, the strong mountain fortress of Alamut in Persia, and removing there with his followers, settled as chief of the famous society afterwards called the Assassins. The speculative principles of this body were identical with those of the Ismaelites, but their external policy was marked by one peculiar and distinctive feature the em ployment of secret assassination against all enemies. This practice was introduced by Hassan, and formed the essential characteristic of the sect. In organisation they closely resembled the western lodge at Cairo. At the head was the supreme ruler, the Sheikh-al-Jcbal, i.e., Chief, or, as it is commonly translated, Old Man of the Mountains. Under him were three Dai-al-Kirbal, or, as they may be called, grand priors, who ruled the three provinces over which the sheikh s power extended. Next came the body of Dais, or priors, who w T ere fully initiated into all the secret doctrines, and were the emissaries of the faith. Fourth were the Refiks, associates or fellows, who were in process of initiation, and who ultimately advanced to the dignity of dais. Fifth came the most distinctive class, the Fedavies, or Fedais (i.e., the devoted ones), who were the guards or assassins proper. These were all young men, and from their ranks were selected the agents for any deed of blood. They were kept uninitiated, and the blindest obedience was exacted from and yielded by them. &quot;When the sheikh required the sendees of any of them, the selected fedais were intoxicated with the hashish, an opiate made from the juice of hemp leaves, and from which the name Assassin is derived. &quot;When in this state they were introduced into the splendid gardens of the sheikh, and surrounded with every sensual pleasure. Such a foretaste of Paradise, only to be granted by their supreme ruler, made them eager to obey his slightest command ; their lives they counted as nothing, and would resign them at a word from him. Finally, the sixth and seventh orders were the Lasiks, or novices, and the common people. Hassan well knew the efficacy of established law and custom in securing the obedience of a mass of people ; accordingly, upon all but the initiated, the observances of Islamism were rigidly enforced. As for the initiated, they knew the worthless- ness of positive religion and morality ; they believed in nothing, and scoffed at the practices of the faithful. The Assassins soon began to make their power felt. One of their first victims was Hassan s former friend, Nizam-el- Mulk, whose son also died under the dagger of a secret murderer. The death by poison of the Sultan Malik-Shah was likewise ascribed to this dreaded society, and contri buted to increase their evil fame. Sultan Sanjar, his successor, made war upon them, but he was soon glad to come to terms with enemies whose operations were in visible, and against whom no precaution seemed available. After a long and prosperous rule Hassan died at an advanced age in 1124. He had previously slain both his sons, one on suspicion of having been concerned in the murder of a dai at Kuhistan, the other for drinking wine, and he was therefore compelled to name as his successor his chief dai, Kia-Busurg-Oinid. During the fourteen years reign of this second leader, the Assassins were frequently unfortunate in the open field, and their castles were taken and plundered ; but they ac quired a stronghold in Syria, while their numerous murders made them an object of dread to the neighbouring princes, and spread abroad their evil renown. A long series of distinguished men perished under the daggers of the fedais; even the most sacred dignity was not spared. The Caliph Mostarschen-ali-Mansur was assassinated in his tent, and not long after, the Caliph Piashid suffered a similar fate. Busurg-Omid was succeeded by his son Mahomet I., who, during the long period of 25 years, ruthlessly carried out his predecessor s principles. In his time Massiat became the chief seat of the Syrian branch of the society. Mahomet s abilities were not great, and tho affections of the people were drawn towards his son Hassan, a youth of great learning, skilled in all the wisdom of the initiated, and popularly believed to be the promised Imam become visible on earth. The old sheikh prevented any attempt at insurrection by slaying 250 of Hassan s adherents, and the son was glad to make submission. &quot;When, however, he attained the throne, he began to put his views into effect. On the 17th of tho month Ramadan, he assembled the people and disclosed to them the secret doctrines of the initiated; he announced that the doctrines of Islam were now abolished, that tho people might give themselves up to feasting and joy, for he was the promised Imam, the Caliph of God upon earth. To substantiate these claims he gave out that he was not the son of Mahomet, but was descended from Nezar, son of the Egyptian Caliph Mostansar, and a lineal descendant of Ismael. After a short reign of four years Hassan was assassinated by his brother-in-law, and his son Mahomet II. succeeded. One of his first acts was to slay his father s murderer, with all his family and relatives ; and his long rule, extending over a period of 46 years, was marked by many similar deeds of cruelty. He had to contend with many powerful enemies, especially with the great Atabeg Sultan Noureddin, and his more celebrated successor, Jusuf Salaheddin, or Saladin, who had gained possession of Egypt after the death of the last Fatimite caliph, and against whom even secret assassination seemed powerless. During his reign, also, the Syrian branch of the society, under their dai, Sinan, made themselves independent, and re mained so ever afterwards. It was with this Syrian branch that the Crusaders made acquaintance ; and it appears to have been their emissaries who slew Count Raymond of Tripoli and Conrad of Moutserrat. Mahomet III. died from the effects of poison, adminis tered, it is believed, by his son, Jclaleddin Hassan III., who succeeded. He restored the old form of doctrine, secret principles for the initiated, and Islamism for tho people, and his general piety and orthodoxy procured for him the name of the new Mussulman. During his reign of 12 years no assassinations occurred, and he obtained